Safe operation of an automobile depends in large part on the attentiveness of the driver. Most automobile accidents are a result of human error rather than mechanical failure. This is especially true in today's technological marketplace. State of the art automaking has virtually eliminated the possibility of accidents occuring as a consequence of fatigued or failed part. In fact, after virtually eliminating accidents associated with mechanical failure, the auto industry has refocused their design efforts on the safety of automobile operators who will inevitable at one time or another be involved in an accident due to exercising incorrect judgment on the road, operating a vehicle in a careless manner, or being the unfortunate innocent victim of another operator.
These new safety features, some required by law, are designed to protect the driver and passengers after an accident has occurred. Some of the more popular features proliferated by the industry today are driver and passenger air bags, automatic safety belts, and solid steel reinforced doors and body panels. While these innovations are sure to save the lives of many people who are involved in accidents, they do not lend any means of preventing the accident from occurring in the first place.
Some automobile manufacturers have seen this shortcoming as a major aspect of design improvement and have thus focused attention on the prevention of accidents. The most commonly known innovation coming out of this process is the anti-lock brake system. This system mechanically applies and releases the brakes in miniscule time intervals when the brake pedal is depressed. This prevents a skid from occuring when an operator of an automobile applies the brakes of a car attempting to stop very quickly. This may occur when the operator did not see an obstruction with enough time to brake normally and is panicked into fully engaging the brake system.
While the antilock braking system will offer protection once an obstruction is observed by the operator, if enough distance remains between the two, it does not help the driver to see an obstruction before extreme braking measures are required. Automanufacturers have realized that braking time is directly related to stopping distance and that stopping distance is directly related to operator attentiveness. Therefore, in order to increase braking time, automanufacterer have installed a third brake light located conspicuously at eye level on the rear of cars. Both of these innovations in auto safety will definitely increase driver attentiveness; however, clear vision is an equally important asset in accident prevention. None of the safety features described thus far effectuate attentiveness or clear vision in situations where a driver's vision directly impaired.
While increasing attentiveness of the driver may be somewhat limited, presenting clear visual access to areas surrounding the driver is well within the control of the auto designers. The most common device utilized by auto manufacturers to assist the driver with clear vision, which is also mandated by statute in most states, is a rear view mirror. This device is implemented typically on the front windshield, driver's, and passenger's door. The windshield rear view mirror is angled in a way that allows the driver to see the road and other vehicles behind his or her own car with, at most, minimum movement of the head. The side rear view mirror is angled to allow the driver to view the adjacent lane directly behind the driver as well as the road and cars behind and to one side, depending which side of the car the mirror is located, of his or her own car. These mirrors are essential to the safe operation of a vehicle when turning or changing lanes as well as keeping a driver generally informed of his or her surroundings subsiding any psychological fear cause by not being able to foresee any dangerous conditions which may be pending or unraveling.
This psychological fear associated with an obstruction of vision is a significant factor compromising the safe operation of a vehicle, as the driver, in an effort to alleviate the fear of not being aware of his or her surroundings, will often either look backward physically or position the vehicle to see around an obstruction.
While the rear view mirror successfully removes fear associated with hindsight, automanufacturers have ignored the loss of forward vision that a driver experiences when their view is blocked by a forward obstruction, such as a truck or a bus. This situation often leads to a driver swerving from one side to the other in an effort to obtain a glimpse of what lies ahead. Furthermore, not being able to see around the forward obstruction prevents the driver from being able to anticipate when the obstruction might slow down or stop suddenly.